consumer AGENTS.md  =  resolved shared block   (from protocol/AGENTS.shared.md, verbatim, between BEGIN/END shared markers)
                    +  applicable profiles     (protocol/profiles/*.md fenced body, between BEGIN/END profile markers)
                    +  opt-in fragments        (protocol/fragments/*.md, verbatim, between BEGIN/END grant markers — opt-in only)
                    +  repo-local delta         (between BEGIN/END local-delta markers)

All four parts are present in the template as marker pairs so the wave can fill them and check.sh can verify each.

CLAUDE.template.md is required, not optional, for a Claude-operated repo. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md, so its @AGENTS.md import is what actually delivers the resolved carrier into an executor's context. Exactly one @AGENTS.md import; repo-specific prose may follow it. ../protocol/adapters/claude-code/check-claude-adapter.sh asserts that for this template and control-surface's own adapter; a downstream repo's adapter is verified at bootstrap and propagation instead.

A full protocol copy in the template would be a second independently-maintained payload that drifts from the owner canonical. The template carries only the shell + carrier-selection metadata + the four marker surfaces. protocol/check.sh --local fails if the template inlines the shared payload or the grant body.

overlays/architecture-uncertain-rules.template.md is the downstream-authoring twin of protocol/profiles/architecture-uncertain.md; both carry a <!-- BEGIN/END profile-body: architecture-uncertain --> fence and check.sh byte-compares the fenced bodies. Keep them in sync (edit together).